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Tuesday, March 04, 2008

The assessment by Investors in People, a government-owned company that sets national standards for people management and development, says reforms at the STFC are needed to ensure "a more robust and transparent management process".

The report sounds somewhat damning, suggesting that STFC staff have no faith in the upper echelons of management.

Nice to hear that we are not alone in that then.

The report was from December so must have been compiled before the current sh*t-storm:

The assessment, carried out in December last year, found that the council does not meet the Investors in People standard. But the report recommends the STFC's recognition as an "investor in people" be retained while it works on upping its game.

The assessor reports: "When I was briefed on the merger, I positioned myself to look for what was new, different, better, etc because of the creation of this new organisation. In the main, I failed to find anything." The assessment warns that the STFC must develop "clarity, without delay" to stem a "talent leak" of the people it needs to help it move forward.

I like the next bit:

According to the assessment, the STFC needs to reform its planning and evaluation mechanisms to ensure "a more robust and transparent management process".

Hmm, transparency; no sign of that yet.

Even the new consultation process seems to be off to a rocky start in terms of definite opaqueness hanging about.

Anyway some of the reported quotes are great:

One senior staff member said, "People see a vacuum at the top. There is a lack of direction. We are struggling."

Another said, "There is no organisational direction. We lack strategic leadership and corporate strategy."

"[This] shows incompetence. Accountability sits at executive level. Some should expect their P45s," said another.

There is a phrase and it rhymes with 'Rot bit more surplus*'. I feel that it might apply to STFC under the current management.